


Still Not a Dog-Person

by Lamenta



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Anders has a dog, Fenris is being awkward, Fluff, M/M, kind of established relationship?, mild reference to smutty encounters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 17:49:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4314624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lamenta/pseuds/Lamenta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anders, a stray dog and our favorite broody elf</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Not a Dog-Person

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chiwibel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiwibel/gifts).



> A quick write for Chiwibel because she needs something NOT angsty and her poor dog is currently recovering from surgery. Get well soon Mefisto!

Anders had never been more relieved to see the last patient leave his clinic so he could lock the door behind them firmly.

 

Another exhausting day, another dozen sicknesses he wished he had never learned about and for once, Justice was not nagging at him to return to writing on their manifesto instead of granting Anders a few hours of much needed sleep. No, tonight, Justice and he were of the same mind and Anders hurried back to his private quarters.

 

Carefully, he pushed the curtain aside and peeked. There, on his bed, lay the most unusual patient he’d ever had and Anders still couldn’t believe he’d taken him in. Seeing the dog breathe evenly, all four stretched out comfortably, put him at ease.

 

“Why am I doing this again?“ Anders asked himself.

 

_This creature was suffering. We healed it_ , Justice supplied.

 

“It was a rhetorical question, Justice.”

 

He’d found the dog almost a week ago, on his way back to the clinic. A long, exhausting day, as days usually were when you followed the Champion of Kirkwall around the Free Marches. A dragon that showed up unexpectedly, Varric trying to get juicy details of his past love life and Fenris hissing at him every chance the blighted elf got, yet not complaining when Anders used _magic_ to heal him. To make the day perfect, it had started to rain the moment they set foot into Kirkwall and by the time Anders had gotten to Darktown, he’d been soaked to the bones, hungry, tired and Justice was already nagging at him to do _more_. For once, Anders had his mind set on ignoring the spirit and just go to sleep, but then he’d found the dog cowering in front of his clinic.

 

Anders was not a dog person. At all. He liked cats. He _loved_ cats but he had to admit Hawke’s rather playful, driveling mabari managed to have him a _slightly_ soft spot for dogs. If he knew the dog in particular. That pitiful creature in front of his clinic, though, Anders didn’t know how to approach. It barely managed to raise its head, it was shaking like a leaf and he wondered how the dog had even gotten here. A crossbreed, not exactly a pleasure to the eye either and on the verge of starving.

 

A spark of magic to check the dog’s obviously poor health provided two broken legs on top of that.

 

Tired and most definitely drained of mana, Anders had thought about leaving the dog to die, because he doubted he could do much for him.

 

But Anders was a Spirit Healer and he couldn’t bear the thought of some poor, innocent creature suffering a terrible death when he could prevent it.

 

Anders leaned against the doorframe tiredly and looked at the dog. A pair of dark brown eyes opened and looked up and the dog wagged his tail upon seeing the mage. A week’s hard work but the dog was better. Healing the broken bones had not been too much of an issue, although Anders was only familiar with healing people’s bodies, not pets. Similar but not quite the same.

  
Finding something to eat for the doc had been another matter entirely. Anders almost _never_ had food in the clinic and what he had certainly wasn’t suitable for a dog. In the end, he’d caught rats – Anders _hated_ rats, but they were meaty and the dog had actually eaten them, that’s how starved he’d been. After two days, it turned out the dog had fleas and Anders was still itching just thinking about it.

 

“Are you hungry?” he asked the dog and the tail wagged some more, tongue lolling out of the dog’s snout.

  
“Me too. I’ll see what I can find, alright?”

 

The good thing about being Darktown’s resident healer was people showing their appreciation by leaving him things he could use – herbs, fabrics to use for bandages and sometimes, there was food. Anders usually never took notice of anything his patients left behind as a sign of gratitute until the clinic was empty and he was cleaning up.

 

He was lucky tonight, there was indeed a basket filled with food waiting for him on his desk. A quick search had Anders find some dried meat for the dog and enough bread to share between the two of them.

 

Anders got out of his boots and settled next to the dog on the small bed so they could share their late dinner. While the dog was more than fit to walk, he seemed to like Anders’ bed and napping on it all day. He was slowly gaining weight, the mage noticed, but it would still take him some time to fully recover from the hardship he had been through.

 

“Where do you come from, I wonder?” Anders mused and the dog looked up with that ingenuous look he did so well. “I mean, you must have belonged to somebody.” He reached out and absently stroked the coarse fur on the dog’s back. “Somebody who was anything but kind to you, hm?”

 

The dog whined in response and the mage handed him another piece of meat.

  
“I wonder what I should do with you once you’re recovered? I can’t really keep a dog.” Anders sighed. “I’m just not a dog person.”

 

Maybe Hawke would take him in? Hawke was good with dogs. Hawke already had a dog.

 

The clinic door burst open and Anders frowned. The dog growled low in his throat.

 

“Mage!”

 

Anders gave an exasperated sigh and pet the dog. “It’s just the broody bastard,” he told him while he listened to naked feet hurrying over the clinic’s floor. Bracing himself, Anders got off the bed and slipped back into the clinic before the elf stormed into his bedroom.

  
“What?” Anders snapped. “The lantern isn’t lit. The door is locked. Does that tell you something, Fenris?”

 

It was almost comical, the way Fenris tried to tower over him, given their height difference. Fenris growled low in his throat.

 

“Mage,” he said again, but this time he kept his voice low.

 

“How did you guess?” Anders mocked. “What do you want?”

 

Fenris exhaled loudly, his previously aggressive stance relaxing. Averting his gaze, he murmured: “You have not come along with Hawke for a week now.”

 

Anders blinked. “I – yes, well…what about it?”

 

“I wish to know why.” The elf seemed to find his feet interesting, all of a sudden. “Is the clinic keeping you busy or – are you avoiding me?”

 

The mage crossed his arms and shot Fenris a dirty look. “Why would I want to avoid you, Fenris? I do so enjoy your constant spiteful comments about my person. _Oh_ , you mean because you called me a lousy lay?”

 

Fenris winced and Anders gave another exasperated sigh. For someone who liked to keep to himself, Anders had been rather surprised that Fenris had brought it up at all. The elf had been too drunk to think and Anders a little too desperate and too lonely to resist when clever hands roamed over his body. It certainly hadn’t been his best idea to sleep with Ser Grumpy, although he _did_ have hope Fenris would stop being so malevolent toward him, if only a little. He’d left in the morning, when Fenris’ hangover and the resulting headaches had been bad enough that he wouldn’t give Anders a hard time about the deal. Anders had actually hoped Fenris wouldn’t remember it, because he just didn’t have the nerves to be accused to have enthralled the elf or something along those lines.

 

At least, that was the reason when it happened the first time. The second, the third? Anders figured he should have demanded answers from the elf because Fenris getting drunk and inviting him to his bed was becoming a _thing_ that made him wonder.

 

“I realize that it was rather…harsh of me to call you that.”

 

“You mean Hawke lectured you about it,” Anders clarified with a smirk and Fenris scowled at him in response.

 

“I can think for myself, mage. I know I’d be angry if someone would humiliate me in such a manner in front of my friends.”

 

Anders pursed his lips. “So, what…are you apologizing?”

 

“Yes.”

  
“Hm.”

 

Their gazes locked and they stared at each for a moment. Fenris’ features softened, the longer their staring contest carried on, and Anders could see remorse in the elf’s eyes.

 

“You were…the opposite,” Fenris eventually offered and Anders cursed inwardly when he felt his cheeks flush at the compliment.

 

There was a noise coming from his bedroom and Anders cleared his throat loudly. “Well, that is…very kind of you? I guess I might feel inclined to accompany you folks again. Now, if you’d excuse me, I’m really tired and was just about to go to bed.”

 

Fenris’ ears turned just the slightest shade of pink at that. “Of course. Apologies. Goodnight, mage.”

 

_Yap_.

 

The elf frowned, eyes narrowing as he glanced past Anders. “What was that?” he asked.

 

“Nothing. You were just about to leave right?” Anders waved. “Please lock the door again on your way out.”

 

“You’re hiding something,” Fenris growled.

 

The mage groaned and took a few steps backward to pull away the curtain. Fenris arched his neck – and blinked when he spotted the dog sprawling on Anders’ bed.

  
“What is – that?”

 

“It’s a dog, Fenris,” Anders replied tirely. “Admittedly, not the most beautiful or proudest member of its race but…” He shrugged.

  
“What are you doing with a dog, mage? Gave up on trying to lure kittens into that rat hole you call home?”

 

Anders glared at the elf. “So glad to see you have not suddenly turned into a sensible man, Fenris,” he grunted. “Now get out of my _rat hole_.” He disappeared behind the curtain and pointedly pulled it closed. The dog wagged his tail excitedly when Anders returned to his bed and curled up next to him. “Blighted, hateful elf,” he muttered against his pillow and the dog huffed in response.

 

The curtain was pulled back and Fenris glanced into Anders’ small room.

 

“Mage?” he asked calmly.

 

“Why are you still here?” Anders complained. “Just leave me alone, Fenris.”

 

A moment later, the elf was leaning over the bed, a thoughtful expression on his face. The dog seized the opportunity to sniff on him curiously and Anders watched Fenris extend a hand to ruffle the dog’s head. Fenris was a dog person, too, the mage figured. He’d watched him play with Hawke’s mabari often enough; actually enjoyed doing it, too, because Fenris always seemed to relax with the dog around.

 

“I found him sitting in front of my clinic, starved and with two legs broken, after returning from the Bone Pit a week ago,” Anders murmured. “I spent the last few days trying to nurse him back to health. I don’t have much food, so it’s a slow progress.”

 

Slowly, Fenris went to his knees, still ruffling the dog’s head. “Is that why you declined Hawke’s requests to come along, the past week?” he asked.

 

“Yes. But maybe I was also a bit sour over you calling me a lousy lay.”

 

Fenris huffed at that and pulled his hand away. “He likes you,” he observed when the dog rolled over to push his face against Anders’ stomach instead.

 

“I guess.” Anders scratched the dog behind one ear.

 

“Dogs are very faithful companions. You saved his life. He will want to remain by your side.”

 

“At least someone wants to.” Anders offered the dog a tired smile. “Maybe you are not so bad to keep around, hm?” He glanced up to Fenris, who regarded him calmly. “Didn’t you want to leave?”

 

“I caught rabbits while we were on Sundermount earlier,” Fenris said and the implication was really hard to miss, even for a very tired mage. “And the answer to your question is no.”

 

Anders grabbed the dog and pulled him a little closer. There wasn’t much space but Fenris climbed on the bed anyway, his head coming to rest on the pillow. His hand met Anders’ on the dog’s head and they pet him together.

 

“Breakfast at your mansion then?” Anders asked, hopeful.

  
“You and the dog are invited,” was Fenris’ court reply.

 

Anders hummed. “And just for the record…you said…?”

 

The elf sighed loudly and Anders could see Fenris’ lips quirk up a fraction. “You are not a lousy lay.”


End file.
